My Latest Mistake
by deadlyfuzzies
Summary: Cid’s friendship with Vincent falls apart when his roommate begins a relationship with a young woman from Midgar. Their quiet life falls to turmoil as Cid begins to realize his own feelings for Vincent's new friend.
1. Chapter 1

Cid's friendship with Vincent falls apart when his roommate begins a relationship with a young woman from Midgar, Adelia Clarke. Their quiet life falls to turmoil as Cid begins to realize that Vincent's new love interest may be the woman he never knew he wanted.

Chapter One 

Cid hadn't really ever thought seriously about leaving Shera's house in Rocket Town, but after the whole Kadaj ordeal, it had seemed like a lazy excuse to still be living with someone by means of a guilt trip. Partly thanks to Yuffie's constant teasing (although he insisted on telling himself that it didn't get to him), he realized that he was getting a little old to be dependent on someone else for a house, and, furthermore, that Shera wasn't getting any younger, and had done nothing with her life but help nurse an old pilot's hard feelings. And so, after many nights of mulling it over in bars, Cid had packed his things and had said goodbye. And, in his own way, thanks.

Although he loved his ship dearly, he had no desire to spend the rest of his days living in her. She was a beautiful thing, but, by Holy, Cid wanted a real bathroom. If he didn't have a ship or two to take care of, he probably could have managed an apartment on his own, but a man with children has a lot of expenses, and he couldn't afford those and a decent living space, much less one with a real bathroom.

And so he found Vincent.

_Thank Holy_, he had though at the time. _If Vincent hadn't decided to buy that damn cell phone of his, I'd've never been able to track the bastard down._

By some means, the rest of Avalanche had managed to convince Vincent not to go back to that dreary mansion they'd found him in, and to get a life. Cid didn't know if that was possible for Vincent, but the freak show had agreed, miraculously, that they were probably right, and had wandered off somewhere to find some sad excuse for one, although Cid wasn't sure that Vincent even knew what that meant. After all, the sorry bastard had been sleeping in a coffin for who knew how long, and who could be sure that he even _was _alive? But Cid didn't really like thinking about that possibility.

Vincent had spent his time wandering around aimlessly, and from what Cid could tell, obsessing over the same old shit, but he had decided that the two of them sharing living expenses was a good idea and a nice place to start a new life, so the two had rented an apartment on the outside of Midgar and settled down.

In general, they didn't do a whole lot together. They were friends, yes, and enjoyed joking together (well, Cid did, anyway), and spent some time together every so often. But mostly they simply moved on their own tracks, Cid dealing with his precious ships, and Vincent doing…whatever Vincent did.

And so, Cid hadn't really noticed when Vincent had begun to go out more often. The man often went on evening excursions, probably to sit and be his own little dark self, Cid figured, and it wasn't a huge change when the man began going more frequently. The pilot took no notice.

At least, he didn't take any notice until Vincent brought back something extra one day.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two 

Coffee was good. Cid had decided that a very long time ago. It was just as good as beer, depending on his mood. It was around nine o clock, and dark out. The only light in the apartment was that above Cid's head as he sat at the kitchen table, sipping his coffee and reading a dog-eared paperback on the history of flight. The bittersweet aroma filled the warm kitchen, he had an interesting book in his hands, and he was wearing very warm socks. Life was good.

And it had been rather without disruption up until that point.

The door opened behind him with a soft creak, and he heard Vincent step in, but didn't pay much attention. Most likely, the other man would just retire quietly to his room and leave Cid to his own contented self for the rest of the night.

"This is my home," the man behind him said. Not looking up, Cid rolled his eyes.

"Congratulations, coffin-boy. Any other stunning observations?" He said wryly.

"That's Cid." Vincent continued, the very slightest tinge of irony in his normally monotone voice.

"Why, hell – " Cid turned around and was about to say something more (_Can the man _get _any friggin' weirder?_), when he found that the words wouldn't come out of his mouth.

Standing halfway in the door, gentle and curious eyes scanning over the house's interior, was a woman. Vincent stood quietly next to her, his eyes pinned to her face with a look in them that Cid had never seen before.

Cid jumped to his feet, his mind reeling. Vincent…with a chick! _Vincent!_ The whole damn world was coming to an end.

"Um." He said. That was the most his mouth seemed able to spit out. "Ummm."

Vincent gestured to the girl with his good arm. "Cid, this is Adelia Clarke," He said, his voice it's usual low monotone. Cid managed a nod in her direction.

"Uh…" _Oh, there's a new one. Good job, Cid. What, you've never seen a girl before?_

_Well, yeah, but not with _him.

Vincent shut the door behind them, and turned the lights on. Cid knew that Vincent normally preferred darker rooms, but he seemed to be concerned merely with what would make his new friend the most comfortable. Cid simply watched dumbly, his mouth opened slightly in a rather stupefied expression. Without another word in Cid's direction to acknowledge the pilot, Vincent guided Adelia around the apartment, showing her the different rooms, his arm positioned behind her back, but unlike any other man in his position, taking care not to touch her. Cid simply watched them, eyebrows raised. The girl…Adelia, was it? She seemed perfectly oblivious to Vincent's…oddities of character, and rather looked up at him gently with an odd grace and ease. She was kind of pretty, Cid had to admit. Small but curved, with untamed light brownish-red hair that fell to the middle of her neck, and looked up at his friend with warm brown eyes.

_Shit, well, at least he has some sorta taste, _Cid thought, scratching his cheek, and realizing that he hadn't shaved for a few days.

The tour seemed to be over as quickly as it had started. Vincent guided the girl back towards the door, looking like a phantom next to the girl beside him. She smiled up at Cid and spoke for the first time.

"Nice to meet you. Hopefully I'll see you again." Her smile was as warm as her eyes, and made Cid feel like he may have to sit down again if she continued like that. No wonder Vincent liked her.

He managed another nod, and hoped that he was smiling and not looking as if he was psychotic. _'Course, if she's hangin' out with _him_, that sorta look from me shouldn't weird her out any, _he thought.

She smiled at him, and he swallowed a little. Vincent nodded slightly to his roommate, and whisked his new friend out the door.

"Hell's bells," Cid said to himself, sinking into a chair. "What a freak."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three 

Cid had decided to take on a cheerful outlook when Vincent came back. When the other man came through the door, he stood again, grinning.

"Damn, man, didn't know you had it in you!" He said, hands on his hips. Vincent stared at him.

"I don't understand."

"I mean she's hot. Good call." Cid gave his friend a thumbs-up, and went to pour some more coffee for himself and his roommate.

Vincent took off his cloak, hanging it neatly on the hook (a direct opposite from Cid's jacket, which was draped carelessly over a chair). "I hadn't thought of it."

"You're kidding." Cid turned back to him, eyebrows raised in disbelief. "She's a friggin' babe." He brought the coffee over to the table, shoving one towards Vincent's place. Vincent sat down and sipped it gingerly, his eyes on the warm drink.

"She's a friend." He said simply.

"A friend."

"Yes." Again, no explanation, no further commentary. The accented silence drove Cid off the wall.

"And…that means…?" He probed, pulling a cigarette out of his pocket and lighting it.

Vincent looked up at him. "Do you think that I am unable to make friends outside of Avalanche?"

Somehow, the fact that Vincent said this with complete sincerity made it sharper than if he had said it angrily. Cid blinked and shook his head. "Well, no, I just…"

"I have no further intentions."

Cid looked at him in disbelief. "You mean you just decided to befriend that chick for no damn reason?"

"No. She was coming out of a store, and a young man took something from her bag. I was standing nearby and saw, and I stopped him, and she asked me if she could buy me a drink in thanks. I remembered you saying that I ought to be more open to people, and I decided that I might take your advice."

"And all this happened tonight?"

"No. A month ago."

"A fckin' _month_ ago!" Cid spat out. "You been seeing this girl the whole damn time!"

"No. I ran into her again a week later and she began to talk to me. I was polite, and so she began a conversation with me."

"Well, for someone you just became 'friends' with, you sure were indulgin' her, turnin' the light on for her and everything." Cid took a long draw from his cigarette, an amused look on his face.

"Most people prefer lit rooms, so I turned the light on for her. Luckily for me, you don't care about whether or not the room is dark."

"Still, I think that's a bit nice, even for you, Vince."

"I indulge you, too."

"What? What th' hell does that mean?"

"I hate the smell of cigarettes." Vincent finished his coffee, and took his and Cid's empty mugs to the sink, washing them out and returning them to their proper cupboards. Cid watched him go into his room, and stamped out his cigarette.

"Dammit."


	4. Author's Note

Hi all-

Thanks so much for waiting on me so long! I just wanted to apologize for the slowness of chapter 4, because it's both giving me writer's block, and I just got back from a two-and-a-half week trip to China! So, yeah, haven't been around for a while. .

Anyway, I hope to be writing again now that I'm back, just as soon as I get over my jet lag!

Love you all -

DeadlyFuzzies


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter Four 

The two barely talked the next day. Cid sensed vaguely that Vincent was angry with him, but couldn't be sure from the indifferent manner in which the other man treated him. But because Cid barely saw a hint of his roommate, he wondered if Vincent was far more aggravated with Cid than he was letting on. One thing that they shared, the pilot noticed, was the stubborn tendency to hold tightly to hard feelings.

But the old captain was far too proud to say anything, and just avoided Vincent as well, spending most of his time out behind the building in the Sierra, making adjustments and repairs. Late that afternoon, he was up in the cockpit with a blowtorch when he noticed a familiar figure walking up the lane. He laid down the torch and his mask, and jumped down from the ship, wiping his greasy hands on already stained cargo pants. His face was smudged with black grease marks as well, and his rather grimy shirt was soaked with sweat from the noon sun blazing down on him as he worked.

The visitor was that same girl – Adelaide? Adeline? Something weird like that, anyway. She carried a basket and was ringing the bell for their apartment. Cid approached her, running a hand through his hair.

"Need somethin'?"

She jumped, and turned, startled by the sudden voice.

"Oh, it's you. I was just…dropping off some things…" Her eyes scanned over him, taking in his grungy appearance, and her eyebrows lifted a little in an expression that Cid wasn't sure how to interpret. "Uh, do you know where he is?"

He shook his head. "Nah. Shit, I have no idea what he even does. He kinda keeps to himself like that. Whatcha got there?" He nodded to her basket.

She blushed a little, making Cid grin. "Well…Vincent just mentioned that you two don't really have time to cook anything, so I thought I'd bring you…bring you some brownies."

"Brownies, huh? Well, I'm not sure how Vincent feels about brownies, but I sure as hell _I'll_ eat 'em." He took the basket from her, happily grabbing one and taking a bite.

It was the worst damn brownie he'd ever tasted.

For a moment, he was frozen, not knowing what to do. She looked up at him expectantly, and the only thing he could thing of was to nod and force a smile. She sighed in relief.

"Thank goodness – I'm not the best cook in the world, and I thought for a minute that I'd mixed up the sugar with the salt." She laughed a little, pushing a strand of hair out of her face. "Well, that's a relief!"

_Oh, for Holy's sake,_ Cid thought, resisting the impulse to spit the stuff out. _I'm eating salt brownies. Dammit, dammit, dammit. _

He handed her back the basket, smiling, and when she turned away to look over at the Sierra he turned quickly and spit out the salty brownie into the bushes.

"Is that your ship?" Adelia asked, pointing at it.

"Uh…yeah. The Sierra." Cid wiped his mouth with his arm while she wasn't looking, still trying to rid himself of the taste, and wishing desperately for a glass of water.

"It's lovely," she said, and Cid felt himself instinctively swell with pride. "Did you build it yourself?"

"Hell yeah." He said, his eyes looking lovingly over the ship, sitting grandly in the large yard. "I'll take you up sometime, once I get her fixed up a bit." He put his hands in his pockets, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it as he gazed at the airship, whose silver hull shone brightly in the sunlight.

"That would be wonderful…oh, Vincent!" Adelia turned her head suddenly as the cloaked man came around the side of the building. He looked mildly surprised to see her there, but nodded to her. His crimson eyes locked with Cid's and were quickly averted, and he gave a smaller, more curt nod to his roommate.

"Would you like to come inside?" Vincent opened the door for Adelia, and Cid followed the two inside, wiping the grimy sweat from his brow and pulling his goggles off as he did so. He watched Vincent and the basket of deadly brownies carefully, not wanting to miss a moment of Vincent's sampling of them.

But rather than sampling one when Adelia handed them to him, Vincent simply set the basket neatly on the kitchen counter. "I'm not hungry right now," he said, "but thank you."

Cid had to resist the impulse to smack his hand against his forehead. _No, you ass! _He screamed silently, _when a pretty girl makes you brownies, you _fecking take one. _Jeez, no wonder he doesn't have any friends!_

A faint look of disappointment passed over Adelia's face, but she quickly replaced it with a smile. "Well, that's just fine. Just be sure to get one before Cid eats them all up!"

She laugh lightly, and Cid forced a small laugh. "Heh. Yeah. Love them brownies." _Great job, Highwind, that was probably the fakest reply you could have given her. Congratulations. _

But she simply smiled and turned back to Vincent. "So, um, are you doing anything tonight? I was thinking we could go for dinner or something, if you wanted. And Cid can come too, of course," she added hurriedly.

Vincent shook his head. "I'm sorry," he replied softly, "but I have other things I need to attend to this evening. Perhaps another time."

"Oh, well, would you, Cid?" She turned to Cid, and he bit his tongue to keep from accepting the offer. _C'mon, man, this girl is for Vincent. He needs that sort of thing a lot more than you do._

"Sorry, but I've gotta get up early tomorrow. Makin' a trip to Nibelheim, y'know." He grinned and scratched the back of his neck, running his fingers through his sweaty hair.

"Oh. I see." Her face fell, this time more obviously, but she managed to cover it up with a weak smile. "That's alright, then. I'd better be heading home."

"It's gonna get dark soon. I'll walk you home, alright?" Cid grabbed his coat, tossing Adelia's jacket to her from the rack. He walked out, holding the door open for her as she turned back to Vincent one last time. "Stop by sometime, Vincent, okay?" Vincent made a rather noncommittal nod to her, making Cid bristle. He let the screen door slam shut turning with a small huff to descend the stairs.

Night was already coming on, and although the temperature had been high that day, it was beginning to cool off outside. The shadows had grown long, and the sky had faded to a dark, deep blue, with a few stars already beginning to show through. On the streets, the lamps had come on, lighting up the streets of Midgar almost bright as daylight.

"So, where do you come from?" Cid eventually said. He had never been good at small talk, but had found the silence that had fallen between them to be about as uncomfortable as having a finger cut off.

"Near Kalm, actually, a little ways outside of the city. I actually just recently moved here to find some good work," she replied, tilting her head to look up at the night sky. "You and Vincent are actually some of the first people I've gotten to know around here."

"Really? Damn." Cid couldn't find a whole lot more to say than that.

"Yeah, kind of sad, I know…" She laughed, embarrassed.

"No, not really." Cid chuckled. "I mean, look at Vincent – he's been around here three years and still barely knows anyone!"

"Really?"

"Yeah, he's a bit weird that way." Cid stuffed his hands in his pockets, searching for a cigarettes and finding none. He wanted to change the subject – it was really starting to bug him.

"I suppose. But he's very sweet."

Cid forced a smile. "Heh. Well, I suppose it's just as well I'm not familiar with that side of him. More for you, eh?" He laughed, and then immediately regretted it, kicking himself inwardly. _Good going, genius. Might as well go shoot yourself right about now._

She didn't reply for a few moments, so he quickly moved on. "So, ah, what kind of job have you got here?"

"Ah…I'm actually working as an assistant shopkeeper in a grocery right now. I've applied for a few more jobs, but this isn't the best season to find work, I suppose."

"Yeah…" Cid drifted off, sighing and looking up at the stars, feeling the usual tug towards them, and jerked himself back to earth.

Adelia stopped outside a small, mildly shabby apartment building. She smiled at Cid. "This is my stop. I'll be fine from here." She opened the door, and turned back a little, smiling warmly at him. "Thank you, Cid."

And then she was gone.


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Cid came back to find Vincent in the kitchen, leaning against the wall and making no attempt to cover up the fact that he had been waiting for Cid's return.

"Why did you lie, Cid?" He asked, as soon as Cid came through the door.

"Lie?"

"You're not going to Nibelheim tomorrow." Vincent stood still, watching Cid with a gaze that made the pilot's skin crawl.

"Well…yeah…I just didn't feel like going out tonight, an' I didn't wanna hurt her feelings or anything…y'know…"

Vincent stared at Cid for a moment, as if trying to decide whether or not the other man was lying. Cid attempted to stand still and hold his gaze while maintaining an honest expression – three things that were incredibly difficult, even by themselves – and was relieved when Vincent finally seemed to silently decide on one or the other and moved to put his cloak on.

Cid got himself a glass of water from the sink and sat, watching Vincent. Suddenly, something occurred to him.

"Say, Vince, you remember Shera? Wasn't she from Kalm?" _Wonderful, bastard. You live with the woman for who knows how long and can't even remember where the hell she came from. Great feckin' job, there._

Vincent paused and thought a moment. "I believe so."

"Huh. I thought so."

"Thought so?"

"They have the same kinda accent. Her and your friend. Adelaide."

"Adelia."

"Yeah."

"I hadn't thought of it."

"Oh-ho?" Cid looked skeptically at the gunman, then growled and shook his head. "Ferget it. I'm goin' to bed." As he closed the door to his room, he heard the outside door close as Vincent left, not even saying so much as a "good night".

"Shit," Cid chuckled darkly to himself. "He really _is_ pissed at me."

-----

By the next afternoon, Cid hadn't seen so much as a sign of Vincent. The other man had disappeared completely, and from the looks of things hadn't even come back in to sleep. But Cid wouldn't let the other man's absence get to him – he was far too proud to admit that Vincent's anger at him actually bothered him.

He spent the day at some small supplier shops, looking for improvements to make on his Sierra. It was an energizing activity for Cid, allowing him to brainstorm to his heart's content. There was, he had always said, a sense of creativity to putting his machines together. It required an ingenuity that most people credited artwork with. Right, he scoffed. Can art fly?

Around one he had finally decided to break for lunch, and was heading towards Seventh Heaven to see what Tifa had on the menu. He was in the perfect mood for an ice-cold beer and a sandwich.

As he reached the right street, however, _she_ appeared around the corner. Cid froze for a millisecond, then spun to the side to stare intently at the window display and hope that she didn't notice him.

_Shit, shit, shit. Could she _have _worse timing?_

He stared at the window, his body tense, waiting for her to walk past him.

"Cid?"

No such luck. Cid winced, and put on a nonchalant grin as he turned back to face Adelia. "Yeah?"

She was looking up at him with a mixture of confusion and hurt. "Weren't you going to Nibelheim?"

Cid forced a laugh. "Yeah, well, I was just looking at some merchandise before I left. Just in case I needed anything, y'know."

Adelia frowned, looking at the window display herself. "Women's underwear?"

He flushed, and covered his eyes with his hand. _Smooth, Highwind. Feckin' smooth. _

"Yeah, well, I…" He pushed his hair back nervously with his hand, averting his eyes from hers.

"Why did you lie to me?" Her soft voice was beginning to take on a slightly sharper tone.

"I…I…" Cid continued, and an angry flush rose up in her cheeks.

"If you didn't want to have dinner, you could have just told me!"

"Well, I…" He stumbled over the words. "I just didn't want to…to…er…"

"I'm not someone who needs to be pitied!" She snapped, the harsh tone of her words making Cid shut his jaw in astonishment. "I'm not that fragile!"

"I wasn't _sayin'_ anything like that!" It was Cid's turn to be frustrated. "I jus' didn't want to hurt your feelings, alright!"

For a moment, she didn't look at him. Then, finally, she sighed. "Look, I'm sorry. I'm really…I guess I'm just frustrated about something. No," She bit her lip, passing a hand momentarily over her forehead. "No, that's no excuse. I shouldn't have taken it out on you. Can I…get you a drink or something?"

Cid let out a long, slow breath. _Couldn't hurt anything._ "Sure, why not."

-----

**The Author's Little Corner of Yay…**

Wow, that took a while, didn't it? laughs Anyway, thanks for all the support! Chapter six is already in the making, so hopefully it shouldn't take too long to get out….anyway, if anyone has any suggestions, feel free to post them!

Love ya -

Deadlyfuzzies.


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